[Star man]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

It is noteworthy to see the Royals of these sides actively collecting cars from outside Rajasthan as well. Case in point the Madras registered Chevy Fleetmaster.

What car is this?

1937 Chev.A tourer?
Incredibly rare if it is.
This tourer is a 1939 Chev and it would have to be the only one in the World. General motors in Australia built a lot of odd Chevs in 1939 ,mostly for use by the yanks in WW2 and i'll bet that this is one of them. if you look close,the roof looks more like something from the late 1920's rather than 1939.

[AltoHoncho]

Have seen one more of this being used by the royal family during the annual regional festival in Rajasthan. Then, was surprised to see the tourists taking more interest in the car rather than the cavalcade.

[the mole]

Originally Posted by Star man

1937 Chev.A tourer?
Incredibly rare if it is.
This tourer is a 1939 Chev and it would have to be the only one in the World. General motors in Australia built a lot of odd Chevs in 1939 ,mostly for use by the yanks in WW2 and i'll bet that this is one of them. if you look close,the roof looks more like something from the late 1920's rather than 1939.

I think he's talking about the car standing at the begining of the Garage, The copper toned one. I think thats a Chevy too. But i have never seen a grill on one like that one before.Is that from Australia too? There is also a MG there at the other end will post pics tomorrow.

[Prabal]

Originally Posted by Star man

This tourer is a 1939 Chev and it would have to be the only one in the World. General motors in Australia built a lot of odd Chevs in 1939 ,mostly for use by the yanks in WW2 and i'll bet that this is one of them. if you look close,the roof looks more like something from the late 1920's rather than 1939.

Originally Posted by the mole

I think he's talking about the car standing at the begining of the Garage, The copper toned one. I think thats a Chevy too. But i have never seen a grill on one like that one before. Is that from Australia too?

The white-and-black Chevy, as Star man has pointed out, is a 1939 Chevy Master (the '38 didn't have the horizontal slats next to the rad grille) and there was indeed no convertible in the official line-up. So that's intriguing. But we do know of other commissioned convertibles from some of the other 'royal garages' (like the well-known 'converted' Buick Super 8 around), so could this be one such too? The extra section between the doors suggests that it isn't a simple backyard (sorry, royal backyard) chop job. Or maybe, as Star man says, this is a GM Australia special odd-edition!

The copper-toned Chevy looks like a 1937 Chevy Master Deluxe. The grille is standard, so should be a regular product from any GM plant.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by Prabal

The white-and-black Chevy, as Star man has pointed out, is a 1939 Chevy Master (the '38 didn't have the horizontal slats next to the rad grille) and there was indeed no convertible in the official line-up. So that's intriguing. But we do know of other commissioned convertibles from some of the other 'royal garages' (like the well-known 'converted' Buick Super 8 around), so could this be one such too? The extra section between the doors suggests that it isn't a simple backyard (sorry, royal backyard) chop job. Or maybe, as Star man says, this is a GM Australia special odd-edition!

Let me add to the confusion a bit further. I found a photo of a 1939 Chevy convertible job on the net. The text says:

"This is a 4-door convertible sedan converted probably from a Master 85 Sedan with stick floor-mounted gearshift, no "knee-action" front suspension and leather trim. These were converted by General Motors Continental, Antwerp, for Belgium and The Netherlands. The Plate on the car identifies it as a Model 1267, which is a Fisher Body Number for a Convertible Coupe. However, it should be be a Model 1229, which was a deluxe convertible sedan or Phaeton convertible: F.B. Vrijaldenhoven."

But before we identify the Maharaja car as one of the Antwerp cars, note that the Antwerp car has rear suicide doors, while the Maharaja car has normal front hinged doors. Confusion?

[AltoHoncho]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Let me add to the confusion a bit further. I found a photo of a 1939 Chevy convertible job on the net. The text says:

"This is a 4-door convertible sedan converted probably from a Master 85 Sedan with stick floor-mounted gearshift, no "knee-action" front suspension and leather trim. These were converted by General Motors Continental, Antwerp, for Belgium and The Netherlands. The Plate on the car identifies it as a Model 1267, which is a Fisher Body Number for a Convertible Coupe. However, it should be be a Model 1229, which was a deluxe convertible sedan or Phaeton convertible: F.B. Vrijaldenhoven."

But before we identify the Maharaja car as one of the Antwerp cars, note that the Antwerp car has rear suicide doors, while the Maharaja car has normal front hinged doors. Confusion?

Even the 4-door Sedan of 1939 had the same suicide doors rear hinged. Attached is a pic found from the internet.

[karlosdeville]

As Prabal said it is important to note the bridge/gap between the front and rear doors. The hood does look somewhat ungainly, and it could be a local later conversion. Even the Rolls P3 Panchkote 1 saloon to cabrio conversion has doors in a similar style.

[awini]

the rajasthan car is not a convertible sedan, its a tourer, however being a rajasthan car with royal connections, make me think of bikaner, where other cars have been converted into open cars in the state garages, this car has a folding windscreen possibly from an earlier car, its highly unlikely that this type of windscreen came from the factory. you cant however discount it being an australian body, in which case, it would most likely be have been built by holden.

[karlosdeville]

This is a 1930 Chevy tourer, still retained by the royal family of Bansda from new, restored in Pune a few years back in the 90s.



The picture was taken in 98 I think, when VCCCI rallies returned to Pune after a long gap. My first event that I participated in, we (team pictured) took best restored, best maintained, and best performance prizes. Not bad for a first time

A sister car from the stables, a blue Buick 47 cabrio, is also now in a Pune collection. It carries a consecutive registration.

EDIT - In the back, barely visible is a Ford wagon of a Pune based collector. At the time it was still doing regular duty as 'one of the cars in the office'. It was just being retired, and I hope restored and preserved by now.

[v12]

Check this link on the 55 mins BBC Documentary - The Maharajas Motor Car: The Story of Rolls-Royce in India

Documentary telling the story of Rolls-Royce in India through the fortunes of India’s princes.

Combining newly-shot high-definition sequences, archive film and photographs, this film follows the princes from the zenith of British imperial power in the early 1900s, through to their decline in the aftermath of independence in 1947.

Contributors include: HH Shriji Arvind Singh, the Maharana of Udaipur; Manvendra Barwani, Rana of Barwani; Pranlal Bhogilal, India’s foremost Rolls-Royce collector; and Sharada Dwivedi, writer and cultural commentator.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by v12

Check this link on the 55 mins BBC Documentary - The Maharajas Motor Car: The Story of Rolls-Royce in India

Documentary telling the story of Rolls-Royce in India through the fortunes of India’s princes.

Combining newly-shot high-definition sequences, archive film and photographs, this film follows the princes from the zenith of British imperial power in the early 1900s, through to their decline in the aftermath of independence in 1947.

Contributors include: HH Shriji Arvind Singh, the Maharana of Udaipur; Manvendra Barwani, Rana of Barwani; Pranlal Bhogilal, India’s foremost Rolls-Royce collector; and Sharada Dwivedi, writer and cultural commentator.

I cannot seem to view this. Did you get to see the entire 55 min version ? Had seen a 1 min preview somewhere before

[travancore]

Here is something interesting that I found:

source / credits: Google Books / Life's a Hoot - the autobiography of James Harwood

Life's a hoot: the autobiography of ... - Google Books







This may be the same car whose current pictures below were posted in the 1927 Mercedes 680K Supercharged in Delhi.... post #130 (where I had identified the car as ex-Kashmir) Picture below is "1930" and have a white steering wheel

[wasif]

This is a picture showing a Rolls, Bentley and Jaguar ordered by the Nawab of Bhawalpur.

All three cars were then sent to Hooper for fitment od matching coachwork.

I wonder if these cars survive now.

[wasif]

This is a picture of a 1921 Alfa Romeo RLSS featuring a "engine turned"steel body by Castagna ordered by an Indian Maharaja.

This car is on display at the Alra Romeo Museum. Does anyone have any idea who was the Maharaja in question, was it the Maharaja of Indore ?

Picture is from an old Automobile Quarterly Volume 24 No 2

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by wasif

This is a picture showing a Rolls, Bentley and Jaguar ordered by the Nawab of Bhawalpur.

All three cars were then sent to Hooper for fitment od matching coachwork.

I wonder if these cars survive now.

Steve Stuckey was very kind to have posted a high res scan of the original picture in the Rolls Royce thread. The last known details of that car should be posted there as well.